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Think I'm killing my draft....

Self-serving thread, I know. In the midst of the e-mail (meaning slow moving) draft of my 10-team money league right now. All co-workers and we're all football addicts and seasoned fantasy players. Money isn't that big ($30 a team plus $2 per transaction), but the best part is bragging rights all year long.

It's PPR for WR/TE, no PPR for RB. Other than that, standard scoring. It's a keeper league, but we had a few new faces joining this year, so we decided to blow it up and redraft this season. Had the #2 pick....

1.2 (2nd overall): RB Jamaal Charles, KC

Other players available: Rice, Peterson, Johnson

Synopsis: Don't like Johnson's holdout, and don't like Peterson's offensive situation. Had a hard time picking between Rice and Charles, but in the end I couldn't make myself root for Ray Rice every week. I was on the Charles bandwagon last year, drafted him very early, and enjoyed it. Think I'll get the same satisfaction this year. Really can't go wrong with any of the top RBs here, though.

Suprise 1st round picks: Tom Brady, who went 6th, over Vick and Rodgers.

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2.9 (19th overall): WR Hakeem Nicks, NYG

Other players available: MJD, Turner, Gore

Synopsis: The 2nd round saw a mini run on top tier receivers (including Johnson and White, who went at the end of the first). Didn't feel comfortable going into the 3rd without one of the top WRs, and Nicks was the last guy left in my top tier. I liked the RBs still on the board, but felt confident that at least one would make it back to me 2 picks later.

Suprise 2nd round picks: Vick and McCoy (both for lasting that long)

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3.2 (22nd overall): RB Frank Gore, SF

Other players available: MJD, Turner, Forte, Hillis, S. Jackson

Synopsis: All three RBs made it back around to me, and then some. I'm really low on MJD and Turner this year (see my overvalued/undervalued thread). Struggled between Forte, Gore, and Jackson, but out of the three I see Forte and Jackson's ceiling at high RB2, while Gore has the chance at a top 10 finish.

Surprise 3rd round picks: None

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4.9 (39th overall): WR Vincent Jackson, SD

Other players available: Miles Austin, P. Manning, M. Colston

Synopsis: Was so glad to get Jackson to fall to me, while watching a run of Bowe, Wallace, Wayne, and Colston in the late 3rd, early 4th. I hate Colston, am lukewarm on Austin. Jackson has been tearing it up this preseason, and should finish as a top 10 receiver. So 4 picks in and I have two probable top 10 RBs, and two probable top 10 receivers. I made a note of Manning here, but the guy picking between me already had Rivers, so I knew Manning would come back around.

Surprise 4th round picks: Schaub at 4.3 (with Manning on the board?)

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5.2 (42nd overall): QB Peyton Manning, IND

Other players available: No one of comparable value

Synopsis: Injury is scaring way too many people off. He's already off the pup list. I see little chance of him missing Week 1, and even if he has some early struggles, his final 12 weeks feature 9 defenses who were 21st or worse in pass defense last year. His only challenge is the Saints (4th last year), and that's going to be a shootout anyway. A top 5 QB in the 5th round. Now 9 out of 10 owners have a QB, meaning that I can wait a couple rounds and be sure to get Roethlisberger or Ryan, which will be all the insurance I need at QB (possibly some trade bait later on, too).

Will update as more picks come in. Have to say this is the best I've felt about a draft in a long time. There's still a ton of WRs that I love on the board (Austin, Holmes, Bryant, Welker, Harvin, Boldin), as well as some excellent RB3 options (D. Williams, Best, Grant).

Re: Think I'm killing my draft....

Synopsis: Very predictable TE run in the 6th. I called it out earlier today, and everyone fell for it anyway. It's such a deep position this year, I don't mind waiting another round or two. Knew the guy in between me needed another starting WR, so I put the RBs aside for now. Love Harvin in PPR, but no player (at any position) has as much breakout potential as Bryant. He could be putting up top 12 numbers by year's end. And considering this is a keeper league, he could be one of the cornerstones of my team for years. Think my next pick will be whoever's left between Williams, Greene, and Best...in that order.

Surprise 6th round picks: Julio Jones at 6.6

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7.2 (62nd overall): RB Shonn Greene, NYJ

Other players available: DeAngelo Williams, Jahvid Best

Synopsis: I know I said Williams over Greene a few minutes ago, but I spent several minutes flip flopping on the two. Both have a lot of upside and a lot of risk. At the end of the day, I'll take the guy with a better shot at staying healthy, playing on a better team. Also, LT will take away less carries from Greene, than Stewart from Williams. I notice the RB well is drying up in a hurry - there's only 4 or 5 guys left that I'd trust as an RB3 (Williams, Best, Green-Ellis, Fred Jackson, Beanie Wells) . Hopefully everyone else notices the same thing, and I get some more WR/TE pushed back to me at the end of the 8th round.

Synopsis: Stoked that I got Manning in the 5th round, but still not sure if he'll be playing Week 1, or how long it will take to get him back into rhythm. Before Manning fell, Roethlisberger was the QB I was targeting - homerism aside, he'll be a top 10 QB and has a great ADP. I'll reach a little for him here just to make sure I have plenty of insurance for Manning. Yes, they have the same bye week. I'm not worried about that. If I don't end up trading one of them away before Week 11, I'll get a waiver wire fill in.

Surprising 8th round picks: Lee Evans

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9.2 (82nd overall): TE Owen Daniels, HOU

Other available players: Daniel Thomas, Reggie Bush, Percy Harvin

Synopsis: Waited long enough to get a TE. Daniels is the borderline for me between having an elite TE, and scouring the waiver wire each week looking for a new starter. Had to grab him here. People are shying away due to his injury, but after he came back last year, he led all TEs in targets over the last month, putting up some pretty good stats. Stud at a discount.

Surprising 9th round picks: Jets, Eagles, and Ravens D. One guy reaching is one thing, a run is a different story.

Re: Think I'm killing my draft....

10.9 (99th overall): RB Mike Tolbert, SD

Other players available: Fred Jackson, James Starks

Synopsis: Tolbert's the top handcuff out there. Mathews is always getting hurt, and even when healthy, San Diego looks like a 50/50 split, with Tolbert getting goal line looks. That lone makes him a decent flex play in a pinch, and he soars to low RB2 status if/when Mathews goes down. And as my 4th RB, I think I'm set at that position.

Surprise 10th round picks: None

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11.2 (102nd overall): WR Steve Smith, CAR

Other players available: Sidney Rice, Kenny Britt, Lance Moore

Synopsis: Smith will be a solid WR4. It all depends on Newton, but he has a decent amount of upside, particularly in PPR. Also like Lance Moore a lot, but I think he'll be there at my next pick, although I don't know if I want to carry 5 WR.

I normally don't carry two, but I'm going to need to take another TE, just to offset the risk that Daniels carries. Jimmy Graham was sniped right before my 10th round pick. However Cooley, Keller, and Jared Cook are still around, and either of those three will do.

Matthew Stafford is also still on the board. If he comes back around to 12.9, it's going to be hard to pass him up. I have no need for 3 QBs, but he could be my bye week filler, and if he blows up as expected, I'll definitely be able to move one of Stafford/Peyton/Roeth in a trade. And if Stafford gets hurt again, I'll just drop him and move on.

All the top big name defenses are already off the board. No matter. I like the Lions D a lot this year (in fantasy at least). I'm confident I can wait until the last couple rounds and grab them.

Re: Think I'm killing my draft....

12.9 (119th overall): QB Matthew Stafford, DET

Synopsis: He's on my overvalued list just because of his injury history. But I can't deny how good he's looked in preseason, and the upside he has. With him behind Manning and Ben, there's no risk (if he gets hurt, I drop him at no loss). And if he blows up as many expect, I have three starting QBs that I can use as trade bait.

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13.2 (122nd overall): Detroit Lions DEF

Synopsis: The top tier defenses were going off the board way too early for me. I like Detroit from a fantasy perspective. Worst case scenario, I play the waiver wire for matchups each week. Not too concerned.

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14.9 (139th overall): TE Dustin Keller, NYJ

Synopsis: I like Daniels, but he is an injury risk. I'll hedge my bets with Keller, who will be one of Sanchez's favorite targets even with the new receivers he has. Not to mention a huge red zone threat.

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15.2 (142nd overall): WR Lance Moore, NO

Synopsis: With my last pick, I take a WR5 who has WR3 upside. He needs a little help to get there, mainly Henderson getting cut (which is very possible). And if Colston goes down, Moore has a ton of upside. If I have to trim the WR group to 4, I'll probably end up cutting Smith; I like Moore too much to throw him back.

I'll need to grab a kicker, but I have two weeks to decide who I want to drop. It will likely be Keller, as after the draft there were still a lot of decent TEs who went undrafted that I could get by with if needed.

Usually I'm overly critical of my teams, but I really think this was a great draft. A plethora of talent at QB/RB/WR, and high upside options at TE and DEF.

Re: Think I'm killing my draft....

Jesus Christ that's good. I personally would have taken S. Jackson over Gore, but thats just preference.

Pat yourself on the back, hell of a job.

You would think. The old saying that you don't win your league on draft day, definitely proves itself here.

2-4, and 7th in total points. Part of that has been running into the wrong players at the wrong time (3rd in points against), but mostly inconsistent guys on my own team.

Charles going down killed me. Gore has struggled up until Week 5. Gotten to the point where I'm starting Sproles as my RB2. Nicks and VJax have had a couple strong games, but have disappeared as well. Steve Smith is blowing up on my bench, and when I start him, he puts out his lowest points of the season (Week 3 - 15 yards, Week 6 - 66 yards). So frustrating that I'm trying to move him for RB help.

I do have a 6-0 team in that league, and it's amazing how I didn't notice the draft he had:

Re: Think I'm killing my draft....

i have a friend in my money league thats 7-0. Of course im rooting for him to lose im sitting here at 5-2 and i play him next week(same division). i feel this will be the week he finally loses though. He has Turner and Mcfadden on a bye. He has a terrible bench so he picked up Tolbert(who is now doubtful) but he has Brees,Mccoy,tolbert?,M. Wallace,Steve Johnson,Miles Austin, Pettigrew against Rivers,Gore,MJD,Fitz,Steve Smith,Colston and Graham.

I feel this is a very bad matchup for my friend since Brees two biggest weapons are on the opposing team. :D

Re: Think I'm killing my draft....

Adding this year's draft. I know it's of no interest to anyone else, but screw it, the thread's already here.

10 man money league with co-workers. Doing an e-mail draft, so it's slow moving. We redrafted last year due to some new faces - this year, keeping two players (but they have to be from different positions), which takes roughly the top 20 players off the board. I choose Charles (the best of my bad RB group) and Stafford (no brainer).

McCoy and McFadden were the top RB available, and went 1-2. Already set at QB, and WR is ridiculously deep, as noted in other threads on this forum. I'm a little wary of Charles coming back from injury, so I want to grab the best RB available. Forte is it. Not a sexy pick, but solid. He won't get many TDs with Bush around, but plenty of yards.

2.07 - WR Julio Jones, ATL

Other players considered: SJax, Doug Martin, Trent Richardson

WR is deep, but I'm on the Jones bandwagon this year. I see a breakout year, with a potential top 3 finish. I'll lock down my WR1 here, and wait until later for WR2, of which there are plenty available. Still some really solid RB3 options were still on the board here. Rolling the dice that at least one of them makes it back around to me.

3.04 - RB Steven Jackson

Other players considered: Richardson, Martin, Nicks, Harvin

I like the potential of Martin and Richardson, even more so in a keeper....but I'm a little wary of rookies. I want something safer, given the risk I'm taking with Charles, and not being overly thrilled with Forte. Jackson has been a top 15 back for 7 years straight, and has generated a lot of buzz in camp and preseason. As an RB3, it's hard to do better, and he can easily step into the RB2 role if Charles goes down, or Forte underperforms. Thought a while about taking my WR2 here, with Nicks and Harvin available. But I'll wait.

4.07: WR Dez Bryant, DAL

Other players considered: Colston, Bowe

Top-notch WR2 to pair with Julio. Has had a strong off-season, and his recent injury seems to be not that serious. The WR1 potential has been there for at least a year now, hopefully he can finally put it all together in his 3rd season.

5.04: WR Dwayne Bowe, KC

Other players considered: Vernon Davis

Solidify my WR corp with a WR2 in my WR3 spot. I went back and forth for a while between him and Davis...and I may still end up regretting not filling my TE slot. But injuries to my starting RB and WR last year have scared me, and this year I want top notch backups at both positions. TE is rather deep this year, as it seems to be every year, and I feel like I can grab a couple guys later on (Pettigrew, or Tamme, or Cook, or Olson, etc), and do well enough. Unless you're getting one of the big G's (Gronk, Graham, Gates), it makes more sense to just wait it out.

Trade! - One of my league mates was out of the country when the draft started, and ended up on auto-pick without his knowledge. Didn't catch it until a couple rounds in. He had drafted Mathews in the 2nd, and didn't like it, since he already had Rivers. Offered him SJax for Mathews, and he was all over it. Mathews has injury concerns aplenty, but he only has to be an RB3 at worst. At his ceiling, I've got a top 5 back on my bench, and a keeper for years to come.

6.07 - WR Brandon Lloyd, NE

Other players considered: VJax, Spiller

Did I say WR was deep? Make that my 4th top-20 receiver drafted. Liked VJax a lot, but I really wanted to get away from the week 5 and 7 byes, which I already have way too many of. Spiller was also tempting as a great RB4. But my current RB group is strong enough, I'll wait and nab him or someone similar after the turn.

7.04 - RB CJ Spiller, BUF

Other players considered: Stevan Ridley, Peyton Hillis

Ridley is getting a lot of love, but I just don't trust New England to stick with one guy, and it's not a great run-first offense anyway. Hillis was considered as a handcuff (and even a potential bye week filler), but I like Spiller's upside more. A lot of sites have him listed as a low-end RB2, or top RB3 with upside, and I snagged him as a 4. I'll take it.

And now we're starting to enter the 8th round. Still need:

Backup QB - no rush now. A big run on backups just took place between my last two picks. At this point, out of 10 teams, everyone has a starter, and 7 of us have backups. Meaning that I'm guaranteed to get one of the next 3 QBs on the board - which include Ben, Fitzpatrick, and Locker. I'd be fine with any of them. So I can pretty much wait until the last couple rounds to grab whoever's still standing.

TE - I'm one of two teams left that don't have a starting TE yet. Everyone else has drafted one. Players still around - Pettigrew, Cook, Witten, Celek, Fleener, Gresham, Olsen, Tamme. I like them all, in that order. I would say I can wait until the end for a TE as well, but some of these guys are prone to drafting two (I don't know why). So I'll probably make a move for Pettigrew or Cook in the next couple rounds, just to be safe.

RB5 and 6 - Love Jacquizz Rodgers. Question is how long to wait before pulling the trigger. Thinking 11th. If Hillis is still around in the 9th I may pull the trigger on him as well.

WR5? - Have to give up an RB6 spot for this, or forgo a backup QB (might be the better option). Kenny Britt might be an interesting late flyer. A steal if he comes back and does well. If he gets hurt again or suspended again, I can drop him with no consequence.

Some observations so far: RB quality falls off a cliff after the first couple rounds. After the tier of guys like SJax and Richardson, you're looking at picks like Greene, Green-Ellis, Wells, McGahee, etc. There are some potential gems hidden in there, and they're certainly not bad backups. But I would hate to have to draft any of them as a weekly starter. This, coupled with the abundance of WRs, makes it that much more important to lock down your starting RBs early on.